Letter to the Editor: Lynbrook, East Rockaway

Posted
Wednesday, March 7, 2018 2:18 pm

So many Americans agree on guns

To the Editor:

Sensible gun-control laws aren’t complicated. For example, take universal background checks. We have a Second Amendment, but we also have a Fourth Amendment, guaranteeing our right to privacy. Yet we give up that right voluntarily for many perfectly legal reasons: to buy life insurance, board a plane, accept a job, get a mortgage or bank account, enroll in school and obtain a driver’s license. Should we not be willing to do the same to carry a firearm?

According to the most recent Quinnipiac poll, 97 percent of Americans, including gun owners, say “yes.”

People are “law-abiding” and “mentally sound” until they aren’t. This argues for a ban on killing machines such as the AR-15, as well as attachments that fully automate weapons, so a weapon that shoots 100 rounds per minute cannot get into the hands of a potentially criminal or mentally unsound individual. Sixty-seven percent of Americans agree with this idea, and 83 percent support mandatory waiting periods.